Twitter Identify Theft

Share.

The dangers of being falsely impersonated on Twitter.

By Chris Iaquinta

When most of us think about identity theft, we only worry about the kind associated with messing up our credit score and stopping us from getting a loan for our Vespa. It seems, however, that our attention must now also be turned to social networking sites like Twitter, where social identity thieves have been setting up fake profiles in an attempt to impersonate others. So does that mean we haven't been getting personal Tweets from the real Jonas brothers? Lame!

Referred to as Twitterjacking, which sounds like something that would be featured in a New Zealand porn film, a slew of celebrity, athletes and media personalities have come to learn that they have unauthorized Twitter accounts sending out updates, with names like Tina Fey, Bill Gates and Christopher "Cowbell" Walken adorning the list of impersonated profile pages.

"It's easy to do, there's no identity verification," former hacking whiz Kevin Mitnick said of the ease of registering accounts at sites like Twitter. "Anyone could set up an e-mail account, change a letter or two and then pretend to be you. Imagine someone influential setting up a Facebook page and asking for resumes. It could be a headhunter who is impersonating a CEO."

But hey, what's the harm in getting a fake message from a fake Twitter account? Well according to security experts, the ramifications can actually be quite serious.

"Let's say it was an up-and-coming artist or someone like Britney Spears who has a lot of public appearances and they 'tweet' that the Dallas concert is canceled, 'sorry folks,'" said Robert Hansen, president of SecTheory, a security consulting firm. "That can really drag someone through the mud. Or Tom Hanks could say he's canceling the red carpet appearance and drag an entire event down."

If you personally find yourself the victim of Twitterjacking, Twitter advises that you contact their Terms of Service group, who fullt investigate the profile in question. Unless, of course, you get a tweet from Megan Fox that says she's sunbathing nude, send it to us. We'll put our own IGN detectives on the case. This madness must end!